David Norris (Independent)

A great deal of sense has been talked in the course of the debate and I hope it will be translated into action. Not a great deal is left for me to say as I yielded earlier to my colleague, Senator O'Toole, who had an urgent requirement to go elsewhere and run the country.

I regret that little bit of sharpness entering the debate at the end. In the earlier part of the debate, this issue was marked by a genuine consensus and that is the way we should proceed because it is far too serious a matter to be turned into a political football by any side.